“It was an honour to call you my friend”, Matt LeBlanc has said in a personal tribute to his Friends co-star Matthew Perry.
Posting for the first time about Perry’s death, Le Blanc, 56, said “it is with a heavy heart I say goodbye”.
“I’ll never forget you,” he wrote on Instagram.
Perry was found dead at his Los Angeles home last month at the age of 54, sparking an outpouring of grief from fans across the world.
LeBlanc, sharing pictures of him on set with Perry, said on Instagram: “The times we had together are honestly among the favourite times of my life.
“It was an honour to share the stage with you and to call you my friend.
“I will always smile when I think of you and I’ll never forget you. Never.
“Spread your wings and fly brother you’re finally free.”
LeBlanc, who played Joey Tribbiani alongside Perry’s Chandler Bing in the hit TV sitcom, is the first Friends star to individually comment about his co-star’s death.
In a joint statement last month, Friends cast members Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Matt LeBlanc, Lisa Kudrow and David Schwimmer described Perry’s death as an “unfathomable loss”.
“We are all so utterly devastated by the loss of Matthew,” the statement said. “We will always cherish the joy, the light, the blinding intelligence he brought to every moment – not just to his work, but in life as well.
“He was always the funniest person in the room. More than that, he was the sweetest, with a giving and selfless heart.”
Perry’s funeral took place earlier this month with his Friends co-stars reportedly in attendance. Authorities are still investigating the cause of his death.
A new foundation has been set up in his name promising to continue his commitment to “helping others struggling with the disease of addiction” following his public battles with alcohol and drugs.